Official Opening Series Thread - 2007 - Texas vs. Los Angeles

Sawman · 03-27-2007, 01:05 PM

Welcome, baseball fans, to the 2007 MLB Opening series thread for the Texas Rangers versus the Los Angeles Angels. Opening Day 2007 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will be April 2nd at 7:05 pm PST at home against the Texas Rangers.

Pitching for the Los Angeles Angels:

John Lackey

Lackey was 13-11 with a 3.56 ERA in 2006 for the Halos, and furthered his case for being considered the "Ace" of this talented staff. Lackey struggled in 2006 against the Texas Rangers, though, finishing 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 4 starts, pitching 21-1/3 innings against them. Lackey looks to start the 2007 season off with a bang by improving on his 6-8 career record versus the Rangers with a win.

He faces a tough task though, starting against 16 game winner
Kevin Millwood:

Millwood, who re-established himself in 2006 as a pitcher to be reckoned with, finished the season 16-11 with a 4.52 ERA. While he hasn't shown the sheer numbers that he put up while he was with Atlanta in years past, he did show in 2006 that he has adjusted to American League hitters. He only pitched against the Angels once last season, throwing 7-2/3 innings and giving up 4 earned runs for a 4.72 ERA. His career record against the Halos is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 3 games.

It's going to be a tough matchup of veteran pitchers both trying to get their teams a jump on the competition. As we get closer to the game day, I will post the probable lineups and any other information I can find, but feel free to discuss your thoughts on the first game of the 2007 season for these two teams, and don't hesitate to predict the outcome.

On a personal note, my prediction for the game totals are:
6 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors for the Angels
4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors for the Rangers

SoCalBaseball · 04-02-2007, 10:52 AM

Looking forward to a great game tonight!!!!! Will be there with both my season ticket partners. Went to the game Saturday, no homers but the Angels were able to win the game with out "power".

Sawman · 04-02-2007, 12:12 PM

Here's tonight's Yahoo game preview for Game 1 tonight.

Here are the spring training hitting stats for the LA Angels

And the same for the Texas Rangers

Looks to me like Sammy Sosa is out to prove he's still got it.

Sawman · 04-02-2007, 09:41 PM

Casey Kotchman goes deep in the 2nd inning in his very first at-bat of the year, 2-0 Angels !!! whooooo hoooooo

I hope this is a sign of the year he's going to have!

Sawman · 04-04-2007, 09:41 AM

Angels take the first game 4-1 behind solid relief pitching and Casey Kotchman's first home run of the season.

In game two, Kelvim Escobar walked a few, but pitched well enough to support the offense, who came up with 8 runs in an 8-3 win. Vlad Guerrero hit his first HR of the year after getting another brushback pitch from Vicente Padilla.

Game three is today, with Ervin Santana pitching against Brandon McCarthy. Let's go for the sweep!

Sawman · 04-04-2007, 02:15 PM

Lineups for today's game:

Texas

K. Lofton - CF
F. Catalanotto - DH
M. Young - SS
M. Teixeira - 1B
H. Blalock - 3B
I. Kinsler - 2B
B. Wilkerson - LF
N. Cruz - RF
G. Laird - C

Los Angeles

G. Matthews Jr. - CF
O. Cabrera - SS
V. Guerrero - DH
G. Anderson - LF
C. Kotchman - 1B
H. Kendrick - 2B
M. Izturis - 3B
J. Molina - C
R. Willits - RF

Hillenbrand gets the day off, and Vlad will rest his knees for the first time this season. Personally, I'm not high on Molina, so any lineup with him in it is somewhat suspect in my mind.

Sawman · 04-04-2007, 03:12 PM

Halos have a 4-0 lead going into the top of the third inning. Vlad, GA, Kotch and Izturis with RBI's so far.

Sawman · 04-04-2007, 05:01 PM

Angels win, 5-3 and sweep the Texas Rangers to start the season. Next up, the Oakland A's.

03-27-2007, 01:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
Sawman Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca. Posts: 259	Official Opening Series Thread - 2007 - Texas vs. Los Angeles Welcome, baseball fans, to the 2007 MLB Opening series thread for the Texas Rangers versus the Los Angeles Angels. Opening Day 2007 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will be April 2nd at 7:05 pm PST at home against the Texas Rangers. Pitching for the Los Angeles Angels: John Lackey Lackey was 13-11 with a 3.56 ERA in 2006 for the Halos, and furthered his case for being considered the "Ace" of this talented staff. Lackey struggled in 2006 against the Texas Rangers, though, finishing 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 4 starts, pitching 21-1/3 innings against them. Lackey looks to start the 2007 season off with a bang by improving on his 6-8 career record versus the Rangers with a win. He faces a tough task though, starting against 16 game winner Kevin Millwood: Millwood, who re-established himself in 2006 as a pitcher to be reckoned with, finished the season 16-11 with a 4.52 ERA. While he hasn't shown the sheer numbers that he put up while he was with Atlanta in years past, he did show in 2006 that he has adjusted to American League hitters. He only pitched against the Angels once last season, throwing 7-2/3 innings and giving up 4 earned runs for a 4.72 ERA. His career record against the Halos is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 3 games. It's going to be a tough matchup of veteran pitchers both trying to get their teams a jump on the competition. As we get closer to the game day, I will post the probable lineups and any other information I can find, but feel free to discuss your thoughts on the first game of the 2007 season for these two teams, and don't hesitate to predict the outcome. On a personal note, my prediction for the game totals are: 6 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors for the Angels 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors for the Rangers Last edited by Sawman; 04-02-2007 at 12:04 PM.

04-02-2007, 10:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
SoCalBaseball Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Inland Empire, Ca. Posts: 69	Looking forward to a great game tonight!!!!! Will be there with both my season ticket partners. Went to the game Saturday, no homers but the Angels were able to win the game with out "power".

04-02-2007, 12:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
Sawman Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca. Posts: 259	Here's tonight's Yahoo game preview for Game 1 tonight. Here are the spring training hitting stats for the LA Angels And the same for the Texas Rangers Looks to me like Sammy Sosa is out to prove he's still got it.

04-02-2007, 09:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
Sawman Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca. Posts: 259	Casey Kotchman goes deep in the 2nd inning in his very first at-bat of the year, 2-0 Angels !!! whooooo hoooooo I hope this is a sign of the year he's going to have!

04-04-2007, 09:41 AM	#5 (permalink)
Sawman Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca. Posts: 259	Angels take the first game 4-1 behind solid relief pitching and Casey Kotchman's first home run of the season. In game two, Kelvim Escobar walked a few, but pitched well enough to support the offense, who came up with 8 runs in an 8-3 win. Vlad Guerrero hit his first HR of the year after getting another brushback pitch from Vicente Padilla. Game three is today, with Ervin Santana pitching against Brandon McCarthy. Let's go for the sweep!

04-04-2007, 02:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
Sawman Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca. Posts: 259	Lineups for today's game: Texas K. Lofton - CF F. Catalanotto - DH M. Young - SS M. Teixeira - 1B H. Blalock - 3B I. Kinsler - 2B B. Wilkerson - LF N. Cruz - RF G. Laird - C Los Angeles G. Matthews Jr. - CF O. Cabrera - SS V. Guerrero - DH G. Anderson - LF C. Kotchman - 1B H. Kendrick - 2B M. Izturis - 3B J. Molina - C R. Willits - RF Hillenbrand gets the day off, and Vlad will rest his knees for the first time this season. Personally, I'm not high on Molina, so any lineup with him in it is somewhat suspect in my mind.

04-04-2007, 03:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
Sawman Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca. Posts: 259	Halos have a 4-0 lead going into the top of the third inning. Vlad, GA, Kotch and Izturis with RBI's so far.

04-04-2007, 05:01 PM	#8 (permalink)
Sawman Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca. Posts: 259	Angels win, 5-3 and sweep the Texas Rangers to start the season. Next up, the Oakland A's.